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Information on Vias

Vias

Vias has all the charm of an old town where traces of the past competition-exist happily with the pleasures and needs of modern life. The coloured facades of the village centre mix with buildings constructed in black stone and are adorned with magnificent 17^th Century doors. The pretty, narrow streets lead into sun-drenched squares that have a real Mediterranean atmosphere. A few kilometres south of the village, the scene changes: here is a beach resort with 7 km of fine, sandy beaches. Vias is France's second largest commune in terms of camping and caravanning facilities. You can stay in one of several beachside campsites, in a hotel or in a gîte on one of the attractive vineyard estates surrounding the village.
Close to the beaches, you can enjoy a delightful stroll along the banks of the Canal du Midi (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), in the shade of its trees planted over a hundred years ago. Halfway between the village and the beach, the Tourist Office and its staff will be pleased to help you find your way around this very unspoiled area and learn more about its people and local produce. Vias is on the Languedoc coast between Agde and Béziers. The town is delightfully situated in the charming “Pays d'Agde”, in the western corner of the Hérault, on a curve in the Mediterranean coastline from which you can see both the sea and the countryside.

There are sports for all tastes either in Vias and in the surrounding towns. Mountain bike trails : There are six marked trails to help families explore the area by mountain bike. The trails are generally quite flat and there are distances suited to all levels (9 km to 30 km). They start by the canal, close to the Pont des Jonquiés. Collect your free guide from the Tourist Office. Bikes of all sizes can be hired out cheaply in Vias. Vias Plage has a beach of many miles long, you can go boating swimming, diving, paragliding and horse riding. You can also hire horses and ponys to go by horseback along the banks of the canal. Boats can be hired to explore the canal. There are lots of places to hire out Quad bikes and go-karts. Why don't you try your hand at canoing? There are lots of caves to be explored in the area.

History of Vias

Vias is an old town dating back to ancient times. It was first mentioned in 899, in a charter from the bishopric of Agde: the fief of Vias was originally an old Gallo-Roman villa, built in the days when the Romans colonised the region. However, the area was occupied long before that: traces of chalcolithic dwellings (2000 B.C.) have been found on the slopes of the extinct volcano, Roque-Haute, along with evidence that Greek sailors landed here in 600 B.C. The “castrum” (fortified village) was built in the 12^th Century, with volcanic stone ramparts that give the village its characteristic rounded shape. At this time, entry to the town was via four drawbridge gates, of which the St-Thibéry gate is the only one still remaining. These defences were strengthened by the construction of the fortified church of St Jean Baptiste (between 1394 and 1424) in alignment with the walls. With time and the influence of events, the village took on its present appearance, made special by the use of black volcanic stone in most of its buildings.
In the 17^th Century, homes and public buildings were adorned with Italianate doors. In the 11^th Century, under the town council led by François Rasca de Palignan, the fountain was restored and the covered market was built. At the same time, vine growing intensified and the structure of houses was altered accordingly, with the cellars being built on the ground floor with access to the street. The village developed beyond the ramparts, which were destroyed after the Second World War to make way for this new expansion.

Market

Every Wednesday and Saturday morning throughout the summer, the heart of Vias bustles with activity all the way to the church, with its attractive markets where you'll find all kinds of local and traditional produce.
Out of season, the Saturday morning market is also very popular. - In Season (From the second Wednesday of April)

Every Monday morning (from mid June to mid September) there is a local produce market in Vias Plage next to the Tourist Office.

Heritage

Follow the pedestrian trail through the heart of town to discover Vias' architectural and historic heritage. The trail starts outside the church and takes about 30 minutes, guiding you through the town and introducing you to all its historic treasures: public buildings, architectural features, etc. Each section is signposted and there is a commentary to read. The Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste : This listed 15^th Century monument, built in the Gothic style, is entirely constructed with black stone from volcanoes near Vias (Agde, Bessan, Saint-Thibéry); it is partly fortified and its position on the path round the ancient ramparts shows that it was sited in alignment with the town walls.
To the north of the sanctuary, there is an elegant square bell-tower, topped by a pyramidal steeple decorated with gargoyles; the tower is 53 metres high and is one of the loveliest structures in the Hérault.

The Canal du Midi is a vast, magnificent feat of engineering, built during the reign of Louis XIV between 1666 and 1681 by Pierre Paul Riquet, a Béziers tax collector. He designed the water supply system and a number of outstanding structures, chose the route, directed the works and got himself into debt: all with the aim of fulfilling a lifelong dream of linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The link was inaugurated in 1681, six months after Riquet's death. The canal was completed by Vauban and became an important transport route, contributing to the development of trade in the lower Languedoc.
The canal remains unchanged and is now a World Heritage Site. It is once again very popular, due to the development of inland waterway tourism. It crosses the commune from east to west for a length of 5 kilometres. Its banks are a delightful place for a walk.

The Roque-Haute Nature Reserve has long been known for the beauty of its plant life. The Reserve is home to some ten species of great scientific interest. This outstanding site was founded in 1975 as a result of the presence of rare ferns and their habitats (temporary ponds). It lies in the communes of Vias and Portiragnes and extends over 159 hectares of volcanic land created by the activity of the former Roque-Haute volcano 640,000 years ago. The basalt plateau is covered with typically Mediterranean plant life and contains a number of artificially hollowed-out depressions from which stone was extracted to build bridges and other structures for the Canal du Midi in the 17^th Century. The 205 ponds created by this quarrying dry out in early summer.

Engineering on the Libron : Following a number of floods on the Libron, it was decided in 1858 to ensure that the river would not burst its banks again. So, in the 19^th Century, an impressive feat of engineering was built in the area, consisting of a labyrinth of sluices, cogs and chains. The system allows the waters of the Libron to flow over the Canal du Midi on an artificial bed, using two sheets suspended from wagons on rails, which come together and block the passage on the canal. When the sluices are opened, the waters of the Libron are free to flow across the canal and on to the sea. After the flood, the canal is re-opened for boat traffic.